Sports
Season in Review: Merrimack Warriors Set Records, Won Over Fans, and Made History
Merrimack set all kinds of records this season; North Andover Patch takes a look at some of the top games of the 2010-11 season.
The Merrimack College Warriors may have suffered a to end their season on Saturday, but let us not forget that their season was one for the books.
The Warriors in 2010-11 were quite simply the best in team in the school's history.
Merrimack was able to set new school records in home wins, road wins, and sellouts. Rather than dwelling on the unfortunate end to the Warriors’ season, let’s take a look at the team’s best home wins and sellouts.
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After all, a packed Lawler Arena seemed to do a number on tough opposition from Boston College, Boston University, UNH, and Maine.
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Home Wins
Merrimack was absolutely incredible at their home rink of . They were close to unbeatable. The Warriors accumulated an outstanding 13-2-1 record in the fine town of North Andover. Here is a look at three of Merrimack’s amazing wins that happened right off Route 114.
October 16, 2010 –
The Warriors were extremely excited to debut their brand new arena. Though it has been in existence for years, this year it felt like a brand new building.
Lawler Arena featured new seats that replaced the old wooden benches. It also featured a brand new student section where Merrimack’s faithful fans could erupt at every goal and taunt opposing goaltenders.
The Warriors crushed UConn 7-1 in the stadium’s grand re-opening. It was a sign of things to come.
October 30, 2010 –
Boston College, Hockey East’s version of the New York Yankees, came into Lawler Arena with a chip on their shoulders as the reigning NCAA Champions.
Did Merrimack care?
Nope.
The Warriors took care of business against the Eagles at their home rink. Before a sellout crowd of 2,772, Merrimack's players came away with one of their most complete team efforts of the season.
Fans chanted “This is our house,” and “Overrated,” in the final moments as the Warriors came away with a shocking 4-2 win against B.C.
March 12, 2011 – Warriors Advance to Hockey East Semifinals by Destroying Maine
Merrimack mania hit an all-time high when the Warriors swept Maine 2-0 thanks to a 6-2 win over the Black Bears.
Carter Madsen scored a hat trick for the Warriors who advanced into the Hockey East semifinals for only the second time in history. They went on to beat UNH to advance into the Hockey East Finals against B.C. for the first time in school history.
Sellouts
The Warriors sold out a record ten games in 2010-11. Get your tickets as soon as they go on sale, because it is likely that they won’t be as easy to come by in 2011-12.
November 26, 2010 –
North Andover does not strike many as a nightmare town for visiting sports teams. The defending champion B.C. Eagles had a ton of trouble at Merrimack College this season. The defending champs went 0-2 in North Andover.
Merrimack scored two breakaway goals in a statement win for Merrimack. It was their third sellout of the season.
January 8, 2011 –
At the time, Merrimack were ranked at #17 in the nation while the Black Bears were at #9.
Merrimack’s captain Chris Barton had a goal and two assists to lead the Warriors to victory. Sophomore Stephane Da Costa had two goals and an assist. Maine head coach Tim Whitehead said, “That was an absolute embarrassment,” after the game.
February 12, 2011 - Heywood Scores in OT to Send Merrimack Past UNH
In a preview of the Hockey East Semifinals, Merrimack took down UNH thanks to a goal coming 1:42 into the overtime period by Jordan Heywood.
Just over a month later, Merrimack got their final win of the season against UNH when to advance to the Hockey East semifinals.
Keep up to date with North Andover Patch as we will keep you updated as to when the 2011-12 schedule is announced and when tickets for next season go on sale.
